U.S. patent application number 16/652245 was filed with the patent office on 2020-07-30 for method and apparatus of a connection setup in a wireless communication system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Jaehyuk JANG, Himke VANDERVELDE.
Application Number | 20200245131 16/652245 |
Document ID | 20200245131 / US20200245131 |
Family ID | 1000004812045 |
Filed Date | 2020-07-30 |
Patent Application | download [pdf] |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200245131 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
VANDERVELDE; Himke ; et
al. |
July 30, 2020 |
METHOD AND APPARATUS OF A CONNECTION SETUP IN A WIRELESS
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a pre-5.sup.th-Generation (5G)
or 5G communication system to be provided for supporting higher
data rates Beyond 4.sup.th-Generation (4G) communication system
such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). A method for operating a user
equipment, UE (10) in a wireless communication system, the method
comprising: receiving, from a base station, BS (20), connection
setup message requesting information on capabilities of the UE
(10); transmitting, to the BS (20), the information on capabilities
of the UE (10) is provided.
Inventors: |
VANDERVELDE; Himke;
(Staines, GB) ; JANG; Jaehyuk; (Suwon-si,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. |
Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004812045 |
Appl. No.: |
16/652245 |
Filed: |
May 30, 2018 |
PCT Filed: |
May 30, 2018 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2018/006164 |
371 Date: |
March 30, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 8/24 20130101; H04W
76/10 20180201 |
International
Class: |
H04W 8/24 20060101
H04W008/24; H04W 76/10 20060101 H04W076/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 28, 2017 |
GB |
1715723.1 |
Claims
1. A method for operating a user equipment, UE (10) in a wireless
communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a base
station, BS (20), connection setup message requesting information
on capabilities of the UE (10); and transmitting, to the BS (20),
the information on capabilities of the UE (10).
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information on the
capabilities of the UE (10) is in a form of a model identifier.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the model identifier is
information regarding a particular model of the UE (10).
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the model identifier corresponds
to capability information of a device with the model identifier in
a data base.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, from the
BS (20), inquiry message requesting information on full
capabilities of the UE (10) when capability information of a device
with the model identifier is not present in a data base; and
transmitting, to the BS (20), the information on full capabilities
of the UE (10).
6. The method of claims claim 3 or 5, wherein the database is
maintained by a network (30) connecting to the BS (20).
7. A method for operating a base station, BS (20) in a wireless
communication system, the method comprising: transmitting, to a
user equipment, UE (10), connection setup message requesting
information on capabilities of the UE (10); and receiving, from the
UE (10), the information on capabilities of the UE (10).
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the information on the
capabilities of the UE (10) is in a form of a model identifier.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the model identifier is
information regarding a particular model of the UE (10).
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the model identifier corresponds
to capability information of a device with the model identifier in
a data base.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: transmitting, to the
UE (10), inquiry message requesting information on full
capabilities of the UE (10) when capability information of a device
with the model identifier is not present in a data base; and
receiving, from the UE (10), the information on full capabilities
of the UE (10).
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the database is maintained by a
network (30) connecting to the BS (20).
13. A user equipment, UE (10) in a wireless communication system,
the UE comprising: a transceiver; and at least one processor
coupled to the transceiver, and configured to: receive, from a base
station, BS (20), connection setup message requesting information
on capabilities of the UE (10); and transmit, to the BS (20), the
information on capabilities of the UE (10).
14. The UE (10) of claim 13, wherein the information on the
capabilities of the UE (10) is in a form of a model identifier.
15. The UE (10) of claim 14, wherein the model identifier is
information regarding a particular model of the UE (10).
16. The UE (10) of claim 14, wherein the model identifier
corresponds to capability information of a device with the model
identifier in a data base.
17. The UE (10) of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is
further configured to: receive, from the BS (20), inquiry message
requesting information on full capabilities of the UE (10) when
capability information of a device with the model identifier is not
present in a data base; and transmit, to the BS (20), the
information on full capabilities of the UE (10).
18. The UE (10) of claim 15, wherein the database is maintained by
a network (30) connecting to the BS (20).
19. The method of claim 5, wherein the database is maintained by a
network (30) connecting to the BS (20).
20. The method of claim 11, wherein the database is maintained by a
network (30) connecting to the BS (20).
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to connection set up in a
telecommunication system. It particularly relates to the provision
to the network of information relating to the capabilities of a
particular device or User Equipment (UE).
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having
increased since deployment of 4.sup.th generation (4G)
communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an
improved 5.sup.th generation (5G) or pre-5G communication system.
Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called a
`Beyond 4G Network` or a `Post Long Term Evolution (LTE)
System`.
[0003] The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented
in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, so as to
accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of the
radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the
beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), Full
Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming,
large scale antenna techniques are discussed in 5G communication
systems.
[0004] In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for
system network improvement is under way based on advanced small
cells, cloud Radio Access Networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks,
device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving
network, cooperative communication, Coordinated Multi-Points
(CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation and the like.
[0005] In the 5G system, Hybrid frequency shift keying (FSK) and
quadrature amplitude modulation (FQAM) and sliding window
superposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM),
and filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple
access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an
advanced access technology have been developed.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
[0006] A problem with providing such capability information after
connection setup is that it can delay the proper or optimum
configuration of the UE at the time of initially attaching to the
network. This can have adverse effects in terms of optimal
performance and can unnecessarily inhibit data throughput, for
instance.
[0007] It is an aim of embodiments of the invention to address
shortcomings and problems in the prior art, whether identified
herein or not.
Solution to Problem
[0008] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure,
a method for operating a user equipment, UE (10) in a wireless
communication system is provided. The method comprises: receiving,
from a base station, BS (20), connection setup message requesting
information on capabilities of the UE (10); and transmitting, to
the BS (20), the information on capabilities of the UE (10).
[0009] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure,
a method for operating a base station, BS (20) in a wireless
communication system is provided. The method comprises:
transmitting, to a user equipment, UE (10), connection setup
message requesting information on capabilities of the UE (10); and
receiving, from the UE (10), the information on capabilities of the
UE (10).
[0010] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure,
a user equipment, UE (10) in a wireless communication system is
provided. The UE comprises: a transceiver; and at least one
processor coupled to the transceiver, and configured to: receive,
from a base station, BS (20), connection setup message requesting
information on capabilities of the UE (10); and transmit, to the BS
(20), the information on capabilities of the UE (10).
[0011] Although a few preferred embodiments of the present
disclosure have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by
those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications
might be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as
defined in the appended claims.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[0012] A method and an apparatus for improving in and relating to
connection setup is provided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how
embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will
now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying
diagrammatic drawings in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system according
to various embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates the BS in the wireless communication
system according to various embodiments of the present
disclosure;
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates the terminal in the wireless
communication system according to various embodiments of the
present disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates the communication interface in the
wireless communication system according to various embodiments of
the present disclosure;
[0018] FIG. 5 shows a message exchange according to an embodiment
of the present disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a flowchart for operation of a UE according to
various embodiments of the present disclosure; and
[0020] FIG. 7 is a flowchart for operation of a base station
according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0021] Hereinafter, in various embodiments of the present
disclosure, hardware approaches will be described as an example.
However, various embodiments of the present disclosure include a
technology that uses both hardware and software and thus, the
various embodiments of the present disclosure may not exclude the
perspective of software.
[0022] Hereinafter, the present disclosure describes technology for
a grant-free data transmission in a wireless communication
system.
[0023] The terms referring to grant-free, the terms referring to a
signal, the terms referring to a channel, the terms referring to
control information, the terms referring to a network entity, and
the terms referring to elements of a device used in the following
description are used only for convenience of the description.
Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the following
terms, and other terms having the same technical meaning may be
used.
[0024] Further, although the present disclosure describes various
embodiments based on the terms used in some communication standards
(for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)), they are
only examples for the description. Various embodiments of the
present disclosure may be easily modified and applied to other
communication systems.
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system according
to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 1, a base
station (BS) 110, a terminal 120, and a terminal 130 are
illustrated as the part of nodes using a wireless channel in a
wireless communication system. FIG. 1 illustrates only one BS, but
another BS, which is the same as or similar to the BS 110, may be
further included.
[0026] The BS 110 is network infrastructure that provides wireless
access to the terminals 120 and 130. The BS 110 has coverage
defined as a predetermined geographical region based on the
distance at which a signal can be transmitted. The BS 110 may be
referred to as "access point (AP)," "eNodeB (eNB)," "5th generation
(5G) node," "wireless point," "transmission/reception Point (TRP)"
as well as "base station."
[0027] Each of the terminals 120 and 130 is a device used by a
user, and performs communication with the BS 110 through a wireless
channel. Depending on the case, at least one of the terminals 120
and 130 may operate without user involvement. That is, at least one
of the terminals 120 and 130 is a device that performs machine-type
communication (MTC) and may not be carried by the user. Each of the
terminals 120 and 130 may be referred to as "user equipment (UE),"
"mobile station," "subscriber station," "remote terminal,"
"wireless terminal," or "user device" as well as "terminal."
[0028] The BS 110, the terminal 120, and the terminal 130 may
transmit and receive wireless signals in millimeter wave (mmWave)
bands (for example, 28 GHz, 30 GHz, 38 GHz, and 60 GHz). At this
time, in order to improve a channel gain, the BS 110, the terminal
120, and the terminal 130 may perform beamforming. The beamforming
may include transmission beamforming and reception beamforming.
That is, the BS 110, the terminal 120, and the terminal 130 may
assign directivity to a transmission signal and a reception signal.
To this end, the BS 110 and the terminals 120 and 130 may select
serving beams 112, 113, 121, and 131 through a beam search
procedure or a beam management procedure. After that,
communications may be performed using resources having a quasi
co-located relationship with resources carrying the serving beams
112, 113, 121, and 131.
[0029] A first antenna port and a second antenna ports are
considered to be quasi co-located if the large-scale properties of
the channel over which a symbol on the first antenna port is
conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a symbol on
the second antenna port is conveyed. The large-scale properties may
include one or more of delay spread, doppler spread, doppler shift,
average gain, average delay, and spatial Rx parameters.
[0030] With rapid development of information industry, especially
increasing requirements from mobile Internet and Internet of things
(IoT), mobile communication techniques are facing unprecedented
challenges. According to International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) report ITU-R M.[IMT.BEYOND 2020.TRAFFIC], it can be predicted
that as of 2020, mobile service amount will increase 1000 times
compared with that in 2010 (4G era), and the connected user devices
will exceed 17 billion. With involvement of IoT devices into the
mobile communication networks, the number of connected user devices
may be more astonishing. Under the unprecedented challenges,
communication industry and the academia have started intensive
researches in fifth generation mobile communication techniques (5G)
facing 2020. At present, architecture and global objective of
future 5G have been discussed in the ITU report ITU-R
M.[IMT.VISION], which provides detailed description including
requirement prospect, application scenarios and various important
performances of 5G. With respect to new requirements of 5G, the ITU
report ITU-R M.[IMT.FUTURE TECHNOLOGY TRENDS] provides information
related to technology trends of 5G, aims to solve dramatic problems
such as system throughput, user experience consistency,
extendibility, supporting IoT, tendency, efficient, cost, network
flexibility, supporting of new services and flexible spectrum
utilization.
[0031] The requirement of supporting massive machine-type
communication (mMTC) is proposed in 5G, there will be millions of
connections per square meter, which is far higher than the current
connection density supported by the current standards. The service
requirements of the large amount of connections may lead to high
cost of original communication procedure of LTE, especially for the
schedule-based data transmission such as random access, scheduling
request. This may lead to a signaling storm and a large part of
bandwidth may be used for transmitting signaling instead of data,
which greatly decreases the spectrum efficiency and effectiveness
of the system and also increases power consumption of the UE. This
goes against to the requirement of power consumption in mMTC
services.
[0032] In addition, ultra-reliable low-latency communication
(URLLC) proposed in 5G has requirements on both latency and
reliability. It requires an end-to-end latency less than 1 ms and a
block error rate lower than 10-5. It also gives challenges to the
conventional LTE communication procedures. For example, although
the conventional schedule-based communication procedure is able to
decrease block error rate of data transmission by decreasing code
rate, increasing bandwidth or time-domain repeating, the
complicated scheduling in the conventional LTE communication
procedure will increase the data transmission delay, which is
unfavorable for meeting the latency requirement of the URLLC
scenario.
[0033] Grant-free transmission is able to solve the signaling cost
and delay problem caused by the schedule-based transmission.
However, no matter whether UEs randomly select resources or a
resource allocation manner based on semi-persistent scheduling is
adopted, there inevitably exists UE conflict. Therefore, for the
grant-free transmission, it is a problem to be solved in the
standardization of 5G that how to tradeoff between transmission
reliability and resource utilization ratio, and transmission
reliability and transmission delay.
[0034] At present, there may be two solutions for implementing the
grant-free transmission.
[0035] 1. The base station configures a resource pool used for the
grant-free transmission.
[0036] When a UE has data to be transmitted, the UE randomly
selects a resource for the grant-free transmission to implement
uplink data transmission. The resources include at least one of:
time resources, multiple access signatures, uplink demodulation
reference signals.
[0037] 2. The base station allocates resources for grant-free
transmission for UEs adopting grant-free transmission. The
resources include at least one of: time-frequency resources,
multiple access signatures, uplink demodulation reference signals,
when a UE needs to transmit data using the grant-free mode, the UE
transmits using the resources allocated by the base station.
[0038] In the foregoing description, the time-frequency resources
refer to those specially allocated for the grant-free transmission.
The multiple access signatures refer to the orthogonal or
non-orthogonal divided multiple access signatures, including but
not limited to: orthogonal time-frequency resources, orthogonal
code sequences, code books, interleave sequences, scrambling
sequences, etc.
[0039] In the above two grant-free transmission manners, if the
first manner is adopted to implement the grant-free transmission,
the UE may operate in a connected mode (i.e. a random access
procedure is completed) or a non-connected mode. Since multiple UEs
select resources from the same resource pool with the same
probability, collide inevitably happens to the uplink transmissions
of the UEs, i.e., the multiple UEs select the same resources for
the uplink data transmission. The resources include at least one
of: time-frequency resources, multiple access signatures, uplink
demodulation reference signals, which may degrade the reliability
of the data transmission. If the second grant-free transmission
manner is adopted, the base station may control the number of UEs
whose data may collide through control the number of UEs allocated
with the same resources, the resources include at least one of:
time-frequency resources, multiple access signatures, uplink
demodulation reference signals, which increases the reliability of
the data transmission at a price of spectrum efficiency and
resource utilization ratio.
[0040] It can be seen that, in the conventional grant-free
transmission manners, the first manner may degrade the reliability
of the data transmission. The second manner may decrease the
spectrum efficiency and spectrum utilization ratio. Thus, the
convention grant-free transmission cannot reach a balance between
the data transmission reliability and spectrum utilization
ratio.
[0041] FIG. 2 illustrates the BS in the wireless communication
system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
A structure exemplified at FIG. 2 may be understood as a structure
of the BS 110. The term "-module", "-unit" or "-er" used
hereinafter may refer to the unit for processing at least one
function or operation and may be implemented in hardware, software,
or a combination of hardware and software.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 2, the BS may include a wireless
communication interface 210, a backhaul communication interface
220, a storage unit 230, and a controller 240.
[0043] The wireless communication interface 210 performs functions
for transmitting and receiving signals through a wireless channel.
For example, the wireless communication interface 210 may perform a
function of conversion between a baseband signal and bitstreams
according to a physical layer standard of the system. For example,
in data transmission, the wireless communication interface 210
generates complex symbols by encoding and modulating transmission
bitstreams. Further, in data reception, the wireless communication
interface 210 reconstructs reception bitstreams by de-modulating
and decoding the baseband signal.
[0044] In addition, the wireless communication interface 210
up-converts the baseband signal into an Radio Frequency (RF) band
signal, transmits the converted signal through an antenna, and then
down-converts the RF band signal received through the antenna into
the baseband signal. To this end, the wireless communication
interface 210 may include a transmission filter, a reception
filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a digital-to-analog
convertor (DAC), an analog-to-digital convertor (ADC), and the
like. Further, the wireless communication interface 210 may include
a plurality of transmission/reception paths. In addition, the
wireless communication interface 210 may include at least one
antenna array consisting of a plurality of antenna elements.
[0045] On the hardware side, the wireless communication interface
210 may include a digital unit and an analog unit, and the analog
unit may include a plurality of sub-units according to operation
power, operation frequency, and the like. The digital unit may be
implemented as at least one processor (e.g., a digital signal
processor (DSP)).
[0046] The wireless communication interface 210 transmits and
receives the signal as described above. Accordingly, the wireless
communication interface 210 may be referred to as a "transmitter" a
"receiver," or a "transceiver." Further, in the following
description, transmission and reception performed through the
wireless channel may be used to have a meaning including the
processing performed by the wireless communication interface 210 as
described above.
[0047] The backhaul communication interface 220 provides an
interface for performing communication with other nodes within the
network. That is, the backhaul communication interface 220 converts
bitstreams transmitted to another node, for example, another access
node, another BS, a higher node, or a core network, from the BS
into a physical signal and converts the physical signal received
from the other node into the bitstreams.
[0048] The storage unit 230 stores a basic program, an application,
and data such as setting information for the operation of the BS
110. The storage unit 230 may include a volatile memory, a
non-volatile memory, or a combination of volatile memory and
non-volatile memory. Further, the storage unit 230 provides stored
data in response to a request from the controller 240.
[0049] The controller 240 controls the general operation of the BS.
For example, the controller 240 transmits and receives a signal
through the wireless communication interface 210 or the backhaul
communication interface 220. Further, the controller 240 records
data in the storage unit 230 and reads the recorded data. The
controller 240 may performs functions of a protocol stack that is
required from a communication standard. According to another
implementation, the protocol stack may be included in the wireless
communication interface 210. To this end, the controller 240 may
include at least one processor.
[0050] According to exemplary embodiments of the present
disclosure, the controller 240 may transmit resource allocation
information for grant-free transmission, receive uplink data from a
terminal on grant-free transmission resources, if a dedicate
resource request indicator is received from the terminal, allocate
dedicated resources for the terminal, and indicating dedicated
resource allocation information to the terminal, and receive
subsequent uplink data of the terminal on the dedicated resources.
For example, the controller 240 may control the base station to
perform operations according to the exemplary embodiments of the
present disclosure.
[0051] FIG. 3 illustrates the terminal in the wireless
communication system according to various embodiments of the
present disclosure. A structure exemplified at FIG. 3 may be
understood as a structure of the terminal 120 or the terminal 130.
The term "-module", -unit" or "-er" used hereinafter may refer to
the unit for processing at least one function or operation, and may
be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware
and software.
[0052] Referring to FIG. 3, the terminal 120 includes a
communication interface 310, a storage unit 320, and a controller
330.
[0053] The communication interface 310 performs functions for
transmitting/receiving a signal through a wireless channel. For
example, the communication interface 310 performs a function of
conversion between a baseband signal and bitstreams according to
the physical layer standard of the system. For example, in data
transmission, the communication interface 310 generates complex
symbols by encoding and modulating transmission bitstreams. Also,
in data reception, the communication interface 310 re-constructs
reception bitstreams by demodulating and decoding the baseband
signal. In addition, the communication interface 310 up-converts
the baseband signal into an RF band signal, transmits the converted
signal through an antenna, and then down-converts the RF band
signal received through the antenna into the baseband signal. For
example, the communication interface 310 may include a transmission
filter, a reception filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a
DAC, and an ADC.
[0054] Further, the communication interface 310 may include a
plurality of transmission/reception paths. In addition, the
communication interface 310 may include at least one antenna array
consisting of a plurality of antenna elements. In the hardware
side, the wireless communication interface 210 may include a
digital circuit and an analog circuit (for example, a radio
frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)). The digital circuit and the
analog circuit may be implemented as one package. The digital
circuit may be implemented as at least one processor (e.g., a DSP).
The communication interface 310 may include a plurality of RF
chains. The communication interface 310 may perform
beamforming.
[0055] The communication interface 310 transmits and receives the
signal as described above. Accordingly, the communication interface
310 may be referred to as a "transmitter," a "receiver," or a
"transceiver." Further, in the following description, transmission
and reception performed through the wireless channel is used to
have a meaning including the processing performed by the
communication interface 310 as described above.
[0056] The storage unit 320 stores a basic program, an application,
and data such as setting information for the operation of the
terminal 120. The storage unit 320 may include a volatile memory, a
non-volatile memory, or a combination of volatile memory and
non-volatile memory. Further, the storage unit 320 provides stored
data in response to a request from the controller 330.
[0057] The controller 330 controls the general operation of the
terminal 120. For example, the controller 330 transmits and
receives a signal through the communication interface 310. Further,
the controller 330 records data in the storage unit 320 and reads
the recorded data. The controller 330 may performs functions of a
protocol stack that is required from a communication standard.
According to another implementation, the protocol stack may be
included in the communication interface 310. To this end, the
controller 330 may include at least one processor or
microprocessor, or may play the part of the processor. Further, the
part of the communication interface 310 or the controller 330 may
be referred to as a communication processor (CP).
[0058] According to exemplary embodiments of the present
disclosure, the controller 330 may receive resource allocation
information for a grant-free transmission from a base station,
transmit uplink data using grant-free transmission resources
according to the resource allocation information to the base
station, if the transmission of the uplink data cannot be completed
within a predefined number of uplink data transmissions, transmit a
dedicated resource request indicator to the base station, receive
dedicated resource allocation information from the base station,
and transmit subsequent uplink data on dedicated resources
corresponding to the dedicated resource allocation information to
the base station. For example, the controller 330 may control the
terminal to perform operations according to the exemplary
embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0059] FIG. 4 illustrates the communication interface in the
wireless communication system according to various embodiments of
the present disclosure. FIG. 4 shows an example for the detailed
configuration of the communication interface 210 of FIG. 2 or the
communication interface 310 of FIG. 3. More specifically, FIG. 4
shows elements for performing beamforming as part of the
communication interface 210 of FIG. 2 or the communication
interface 310 of FIG. 3.
[0060] Referring to FIG. 4, the communication interface 210 or 310
includes an encoding and circuitry 402, a digital circuitry 404, a
plurality of transmission paths 406-1 to 406-N, and an analog
circuitry 408.
[0061] The encoding and circuitry 402 performs channel encoding.
For the channel encoding, at least one of a low-density parity
check (LDPC) code, a convolution code, and a polar code may be
used. The encoding and circuitry 402 generates modulation symbols
by performing constellation mapping.
[0062] The digital circuitry 404 performs beamforming for a digital
signal (for example, modulation symbols). To this end, the digital
circuitry 404 multiples the modulation symbols by beamforming
weighted values. The beamforming weighted values may be used for
changing the size and phrase of the signal, and may be referred to
as a "precoding matrix" or a "precoder." The digital circuitry 404
outputs the digitally beamformed modulation symbols to the
plurality of transmission paths 406-1 to 406-N. At this time,
according to a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission
scheme, the modulation symbols may be multiplexed, or the same
modulation symbols may be provided to the plurality of transmission
paths 406-1 to 406-N.
[0063] The plurality of transmission paths 406-1 to 406-N convert
the digitally beamformed digital signals into analog signals. To
this end, each of the plurality of transmission paths 406-1 to
406-N may include an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT)
calculation unit, a cyclic prefix (CP) insertion unit, a DAC, and
an up-conversion unit. The CP insertion unit is for an orthogonal
frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme, and may be omitted
when another physical layer scheme (for example, a filter bank
multi-carrier: FBMC) is applied. That is, the plurality of
transmission paths 406-1 to 406-N provide independent signal
processing processes for a plurality of streams generated through
the digital beamforming. However, depending on the implementation,
some of the elements of the plurality of transmission paths 406-1
to 406-N may be used in common.
[0064] The analog circuitry 408 performs beamforming for analog
signals. To this end, the digital circuitry 404 multiples the
analog signals by beamforming weighted values. The beamformed
weighted values are used for changing the size and phrase of the
signal. More specifically, according to a connection structure
between the plurality of transmission paths 406-1 to 406-N and
antennas, the analog circuitry 408 may be configured in various
ways. For example, each of the plurality of transmission paths
406-1 to 406-N may be connected to one antenna array. In another
example, the plurality of transmission paths 406-1 to 406-N may be
connected to one antenna array.
[0065] In still another example, the plurality of transmission
paths 406-1 to 406-N may be adaptively connected to one antenna
array, or may be connected to two or more antenna arrays.
[0066] In prior art telecommunication systems, the network usually
requests a UE to provide certain information regarding its
capabilities only when required and usually after setup has taken
place. In the context of this application, the term capabilities is
intended to include certain technical capabilities of the UE,
including, but not limited to, bandwidth, MIMO layers, Bands or
Band Combinations, Dual Connectivity.
[0067] Typically, in the prior art, the capabilities of any
particular UE are stored within the network, specifically in the
RAN node while the UE has a radio connection to this node and
within the Core Network (CN), even while the UE is e.g. in idle and
not in an active connection. When the UE first attaches to the CN,
the capability information is stored so that when the UE connects
at a later time, the CH can provide the capability information to
the RAN node upon connection setup. As such, if such information is
needed by the network e.g. when the UE first attaches, it must be
specifically requested from the UE as needed.
[0068] In an embodiment of the invention, at connection setup, the
UE identifies itself to the network using the prior art
identifiers, which relate to its specific identity, but also by
providing information regarding its model i.e. the particular
device, manufactured by a particular manufacturer. Such a model
identifier may provide a great deal of information regarding the
capabilities of the UE in question, without requiring each
capability to be provided explicitly.
[0069] The degree of granularity provided can be made as fine as is
required. For example manufacturer X manufactures model Y in
different variants A, B and C (where A, B and C have different
capabilities), then the particular variant A, B or C can be
identified to the network, meaning that the UE can be setup using
the full range of its capabilities, without the network having to
request specific information from the UE.
[0070] The network maintains a database of at least some UEs which
are commonly used, so that it is able to cross-refer the UE which
is attempting setup with the database, based on the model
identifier, so that the UE can be configured optimally.
[0071] The database can be provided centrally in the network and
populated with information provided by the manufacturers or network
operators. It may contain details of the most popular UEs in use
e.g. the ten or twenty most commonly used devices. The capability
information included in the database may alternatively or
additionally be populated on the basis of occasional demands of UEs
to provide their full capability information in response to a
request from the network.
[0072] In the event that a UE provides a model identifier not known
to the network, then the network requests the UE to provide
capability information in the usual way, as known in the prior art.
However, the UE may also provide the model identifier so that the
network can then relate the model identifier with the capability
information provided. In this way, the network is able to build a
database of capability information to be associated with particular
model identifiers.
[0073] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary message exchange according
to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The UE 10 is in
communication with the base station, gNB 20 which, in turn is in
communication with the Core Network, 5GC 30.
[0074] Message 1 is transmitted from UE 10 to gNB 20 and comprises
a connection request, as known from the prior art.
[0075] Message 2 is transmitted from the gNB 20 to the UE 10 and
comprises a connection setup message, as known from the prior art.
Message 2 may additionally include a field, requestModelId, by
which the network can control whether the UE should include the
model identifier in Message 3.
[0076] Message 3 is transmitted from the UE 10 to the gNB 20 and
may comprise the model identifier information, which identifies the
type of UE including at least one of manufacturer, model and
variant information, from which capability information can be
inferred.
[0077] Message 4 is transmitted from the gNB 20 to the core network
30 and comprises the model identifier information received from the
UE 10. Additionally, the message includes `needForUE-capabilities`
which indicates to the core network 30 that the gNB is aware of the
capabilities of the UE, represented by the model identifier and, as
such, the core network does not need to provide the corresponding
UE capabilities during step 5--context set up. Message 4 also
includes the model identifier.
[0078] If the gNB 20 does not have the UE capabilities
corresponding to those identified from the model identifier, it may
still provide model identifier information to the core network 30,
since this may still be useful to the core network 30 even if, for
instance, the UE has not attached before, the core network 30 may
still have the relevant capabilities and can thus provide these
during context setup.
[0079] Initial context setup is performed at step 5.
[0080] Message 6 is transmitted from the gNB 20 to UE 10 includes a
request for the UE 10 to provide full capabilities information.
This would only be required in the event that neither the gNB 20 or
core network 30 has the UE capabilities represented by the model
identifier information provided by UE 10.
[0081] Message 7, if required, is sent from the UE to the gNB and
includes full capability information, as well as the model
identifier.
[0082] In the foregoing, it is assumed that model identifier is
able to represent certain capabilities of the UE 10. This could
e.g. be a subset of the capabilities for one particular Radio
Access Technology supported by the UE, the entire capabilities for
one particular Radio Access Technology supported by the UE or the
capabilities for multiple or all Radio Access Technologies
supported by the UE.
[0083] The model identifier may take the form of a string which
could be an identifier similar to IMEI or it could be a number from
a hash over the UE capabilities represented.
[0084] In the former case, the IMEI includes a field known as Type
Allocation Code (TAC) which includes information partly allocated
by an authorised body and a second part allocated by a
manufacturer. The model identifier may be set up similarly, with a
first part assigned by some authority such as a standards body and
a second part allocated by a particular manufacturer. In this way,
each model can be uniquely identified using relatively few
bits.
[0085] It may be that the UE indicates that some of its
capabilities are temporarily not available for use by the RAN node
i.e. are temporarily suspended. The model identifier is however
assumed to represent the entire UE capabilities i.e. as applicable
when none have been temporarily suspended. Other use cases are,
however, not precluded.
[0086] Embodiments of the invention are particularly applicable to
New Radio (i.e. 5th Generation) system and may also find
application in earlier systems, such as LTE. However, embodiments
of the invention are not limited to any particular radio access
technology and may be used in any suitable system.
[0087] Advantageously, embodiments of the present disclosure allow
earlier availability of UE capabilities, which can allow the UE to
be optimally set up at the outset.
[0088] By making use of model identifier information, it is
possible to provide centrally at a point (or points) in the
network, information on certain more popular UEs which commonly
access the network. Such information being available in this way
lessens the information which must be provided by the UE on
connection setup, since much of it will be common to a particular
type of device and so does not need to be sent by each UE to the
network at setup.
[0089] The overhead involved in providing such a capability in the
network is relatively low cost, since the additional messaging
overhead of the exchange exemplified in FIG. 5 results, overall, in
less data traffic than if each UE provides full capability
information individually. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention
reduce capability storage in the RAN and the CH. Also, UE
capabilities may be known earlier to the RAN and any such
capabilities may therefore be used earlier upon connection
setup.
[0090] FIG. 6 is a flowchart for operation of the user equipment
according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0091] Referring to FIG. 6, in step 601, the user equipment
receives, from a base station, connection setup message requesting
information on capabilities of the user equipment. The information
on the capabilities of the user equipment may include a field,
requestModelId. The information on the capabilities of the user
equipment may be in a form of a model identifier. The model
identifier may be information regarding a particular model of the
user equipment. The model identifier may correspond to capability
information of a device with the model identifier in a data base.
The database may be maintained by a network connecting to the base
station.
[0092] In step 603, the user equipment transmits, to the base
station, the information on capabilities of the user equipment. The
information may comprise the model identifier information, which
identifies the type of user equipment including at least one of
manufacturer, model and variant information, from which capability
information can be inferred.
[0093] In some embodiments, after step 603, the user equipment may
receive, from the base station, inquiry message requesting
information on full capabilities of the user equipment when
capability information of a device with the model identifier is not
present in a data base; and may transmit, to the base station, the
information on full capabilities of the user equipment.
[0094] FIG. 7 is a flowchart for operation of a base station
according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0095] Referring to FIG. 7, in step 701, the base station may
transmit, to a user equipment, connection setup message requesting
information on capabilities of the user equipment. The information
on the capabilities of the user equipment may include a field,
requestModelId. The information on the capabilities of the user
equipment may be in a form of a model identifier. The model
identifier may be information regarding a particular model of the
user equipment. The model identifier may correspond to capability
information of a device with the model identifier in a data base.
The database may be maintained by a network connecting to the base
station.
[0096] In step 703, the base station receives, from the user
equipment, the information on capabilities of the user equipment.
The information may comprise the model identifier information,
which identifies the type of user equipment including at least one
of manufacturer, model and variant information, from which
capability information can be inferred.
[0097] In some embodiments, after step 703, the base station may
transmit, to the user equipment, inquiry message requesting
information on full capabilities of the user equipment when
capability information of a device with the model identifier is not
present in a data base; and receives, from the user equipment, the
information on full capabilities of the user equipment.
[0098] At least some of the example embodiments described herein
may be constructed, partially or wholly, using dedicated
special-purpose hardware. Terms such as `component`, `module` or
`unit` used herein may include, but are not limited to, a hardware
device, such as circuitry in the form of discrete or integrated
components, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application
Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which performs certain tasks or
provides the associated functionality. In some embodiments, the
described elements may be configured to reside on a tangible,
persistent, addressable storage medium and may be configured to
execute on one or more processors. These functional elements may in
some embodiments include, by way of example, components, such as
software components, object-oriented software components, class
components and task components, processes, functions, attributes,
procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers,
firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures,
tables, arrays, and variables. Although the example embodiments
have been described with reference to the components, modules and
units discussed herein, such functional elements may be combined
into fewer elements or separated into additional elements. Various
combinations of optional features have been described herein, and
it will be appreciated that described features may be combined in
any suitable combination. In particular, the features of any one
example embodiment may be combined with features of any other
embodiment, as appropriate, except where such combinations are
mutually exclusive. Throughout this specification, the term
"comprising" or "comprises" means including the component(s)
specified but not to the exclusion of the presence of others.
[0099] Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are
filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in
connection with this application and which are open to public
inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such
papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.
[0100] All of the features disclosed in this specification
(including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or
all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be
combined in any combination, except combinations where at least
some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. [99]
Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any
accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by
alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar
purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly
stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a
generic series of equivalent or similar features.
[0101] The invention is not restricted to the details of the
foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or
any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this
specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and
drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the
steps of any method or process so disclosed.
[0102] Methods according to embodiments stated in claims and/or
specifications of the present disclosure may be implemented in
hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
[0103] When the methods are implemented by software, a
computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more programs
(software modules) may be provided. The one or more programs stored
in the computer-readable storage medium may be configured for
execution by one or more processors within the electronic device.
The at least one program may include instructions that cause the
electronic device to perform the methods according to various
embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the appended
claims and/or disclosed herein.
[0104] The programs (software modules or software) may be stored in
non-volatile memories including a random access memory and a flash
memory, a read only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable
programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disc storage
device, a compact disc-ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile discs
(DVDs), or other type optical storage devices, or a magnetic
cassette. Alternatively, any combination of some or all of the may
form a memory in which the program is stored. Further, a plurality
of such memories may be included in the electronic device.
[0105] In addition, the programs may be stored in an attachable
storage device which is accessible through communication networks
such as the Internet, Intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area
network (WAN), and storage area network (SAN), or a combination
thereof. Such a storage device may access the electronic device via
an external port. Further, a separate storage device on the
communication network may access a portable electronic device.
[0106] In the above-described detailed embodiments of the present
disclosure, a component included in the present disclosure is
expressed in the singular or the plural according to a presented
detailed embodiment. However, the singular form or plural form is
selected for convenience of description suitable for the presented
situation, and various embodiments of the present disclosure are
not limited to a single element or multiple elements thereof.
Further, either multiple elements expressed in the description may
be configured into a single element or a single element in the
description may be configured into multiple elements.
[0107] While the present disclosure has been shown and described
with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be
understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form
and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of
the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present
disclosure should not be defined as being limited to the
embodiments, but should be defined by the appended claims and
equivalents thereof.
[0108] Although the present disclosure has been described with an
exemplary embodiment, various changes and modifications may be
suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the
present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall
within the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *